BY NICK DIAMANTIDES
Staff Writer
The League of Women Voters (LWV) celebrated its 89th birthday last Saturday. About 50 people, mostly women, gathered to commemorate the event at the Los Altos branch library in Long Beach. Early in the meeting, Jan Gallup, a member of the Long Beach LWV’s board of directors, gave a presentation on the history of the women’s Suffrage Movement in the United States. She described the sometimes violent opposition it faced from men who did not want women to have the right to vote.
After Gallup spoke, 15 women from government, community and nonprofit agencies each took three to four minutes to describe the important roles women have played in the past and continue to play in modern times.
Long Beach City Auditor Laura Doud spoke first. She noted that Myrtelle Gunsul, elected in 1919, was the first female city auditor in the city. “This was an amazing, extraordinary woman who was the first woman to be elected to any office in the city of Long Beach,” Doud said. “She was elected 11 times, served until 1951 and holds the record for the longest serving elected official in Long Beach.”
Kaye Briegel of the Historical Society of Long Beach spoke next. She described the Society’s online archive that features recorded interviews with early 20th Century women. “On this archive you can hear five suffragists talk about their experiences,” she said. “We also have many other people you can hear on our archive, which you can access at www.csulb.edu/voha.”
Next up was Martha Long, former executive director of the Mental Health America Village. She described some of the programs that MHA offers to people suffering from mental illness.
Val Parker spoke next, describing the Power 4 Youth program. “It’s a mentoring program for at-risk middle-school and high-school kids here in Long Beach,” she said. “We measure our results by report cards—grades and also the conduct report.”
Parker said that mentoring girls from low-income families where they are taught to be subservient to men is the biggest challenge her organization faces. “There are girls all over this city that don’t really see a future for themselves,” Parker said. She stressed Power 4 Youth strives to teach girls about women’s history and about the possibilities of improving the quality of their own lives.
Linda Parker of the American Association of University Women (founded in 1881) addressed the audience. She outlined some of that organization’s accomplishments pertaining to women’s rights.
Then Sara Pol-Lim, executive director of the United Cambodian Community, spoke. She noted that the Cambodian culture still resists the idea of women in leadership positions.
Long Beach City Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga (7th District), who is also the interim director of the nonprofit Sexual Assault Crisis Agency, spoke next. She noted that state funds for programs that help victims of sexual assault have been sharply cut back, and she asked audience members to get on the phone to urge state legislators to restore that funding.
Jerri Rosen, CEO/Founder of Working Wardrobes, a nonprofit organization based in Fountain Valley, described her organization’s efforts to increase the self-esteem of women and men, prepare them for the workforce and provide them with the kinds of clothes they need when going to a job interview.
Fifth District Long Beach City Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske was up next. She talked about her efforts to establish and maintain the Rosie the Riveter Park memorial and historic site. Schipske also thanked the LWV for making it possible for women to run for public office.
Then Michele Wilkosz, representing Soroptomists International of Lakewood and Long Beach, urged the audience to continue working for women’s rights. “We are the shoulders that somebody will stand on to achieve a more equitable future,” she said.
Former Assemblywoman Betty Karnette spoke next. She said although much has been done to establish equality for women, much still remains to be done.
Congresswoman Laura Richardson (37th District) agreed. She noted that women’s rights and healthcare issues are still at the forefront of federal legislative efforts.
Then Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal (54th District) addressed the audience. She praised the LWV for bringing issues pertaining to elections to the public’s awareness. She also said she wanted to see more women in the Assembly. “We have less women now than we had in the 1990s,” she said.
Long Beach Superior Court Judge Deborah Andrews and Laura Matthews, a woman’s rights activist, were the last two speakers. They both praised the LWV and urged women to continue standing up for their rights.
After Matthews spoke, the LVW paid tribute to about eight women in the audience who had been members for 50 years or more.
